American Economic Journal:
Applied Economics
ISSN 1945-7782 (Print) | ISSN 1945-7790 (Online)
Do College Graduates Serving as Village Officials Help Rural China?
American Economic Journal: Applied Economics
vol. 9,
no. 4, October 2017
(pp. 186–215)
(Complimentary)
Abstract
This study estimates the effect of improved bureaucrat quality on poverty alleviation by exploring a unique human capital reallocation policy in China—the College Graduate Village Officials (CGVOs) program. We find that introducing CGVOs into the village governance system improves the targeting and implementation of the central government's social assistance programs. CGVOs help eligible poor households understand and apply for relevant subsidies, thus increasing the number of pro-poor program beneficiaries. Further analysis suggests that CGVOs change bureaucrat quality, rather than quantity, of village governance, and their presence reduces elite capture of pro-poor programs.Citation
He, Guojun, and Shaoda Wang. 2017. "Do College Graduates Serving as Village Officials Help Rural China?" American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 9 (4): 186–215. DOI: 10.1257/app.20160079Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- D73 Bureaucracy; Administrative Processes in Public Organizations; Corruption
- H83 Public Administration; Public Sector Accounting and Audits
- J24 Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
- O17 Formal and Informal Sectors; Shadow Economy; Institutional Arrangements
- O18 Economic Development: Urban, Rural, Regional, and Transportation Analysis; Housing; Infrastructure
- P25 Socialist Systems and Transitional Economies: Urban, Rural, and Regional Economics
- P26 Socialist Systems and Transitional Economies: Political Economy; Property Rights
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